A Fire Rising in the West
by FirebenderAkio
Summary: Air, Water, Earth, Fire... Long ago the Avatar was born to be a connection between the spirit world and the mortal world. But now almost all of the sprits are gone and the last Avatar, and earth bender, died 20 years ago in a war that reshaped the stasis quo of the world. Now the world is in need of an Avatar, but with the spirits gone... can one even exist? AU/Future world of LoK
1. Prologue

**Book I: Fire**

**Prologue**

_Ash, falling heavy like rain…thunderous sounds of an ongoing battle…a shadowy silhouetted his eyes aglow, pale blue…screams call back reality…the end is coming…_

Levi's eyes snapped open. He brushed aside the hair hanging in front of his eyes and he tried to register his surroundings. He quickly recognized the pale moonlight shining through the ancient columns of the Temple. He felt his heart racing and adjusted his breathing, taking in deep slow breathes until his pulse became steady. He then focused on the air around him, manipulating it to push his body up out of the lotus position, which he was meditating in, and on to his feet. Levi picked up his staff, which had been resting beside him, and then walked over to the edge of the platform he was on. He breathed in the cool dusty air of the Northern Air Temple. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he blankly stared at the Temple's unique inverted design, where the temples were hanging upside down from the cliffs surrounding him. Levi began reflecting on the visions he had seen. The spirit world has been long thought to be completely disconnected from the human world, yet he tried for mouths to connect still believing that the connection still exists. Finally, tonight he had accomplished something. Though the visions he had been given were disjointed and apocalyptic. As he began pondering these visions he heard a small voice, a faint whisper.

"_Find the Avatar"_

He felt a sharp pain erupt from the back of his head, the pain engulfing his whole head. He saw a vision of two men locked in combat. On one side stood a man in his 20's, his jet-black hair was cut short, military maybe. His grey eyes burned with intensity, and his face stoic. He was wearing a dark grey trench coat, grey khakis and boots. The fire he was producing from his fists and feet accented all of this. With every punch he threw in the air, brilliant flames of orange and blue jutted out and bolted towards his opponent. Every kick sent arcs of this brilliant flame flying. His opponent was not worse for wear either. His dark green army jacket seemed to accent his dark skin and muscular build. His dreadlocks flung through the air with every move. The air around him cracked with electricity, literally. The man was bending lightning to his will as easily as Levi could bend the air around himself.

"_They must not kill each other!"_ the voice whispered.

_"__Go to Republic City. Find them and convince them to work together."_

The vision disappeared and Levi sprung to action. He grabbed his staff and with a flick of the wrist, it transformed into a personal glider. Levi then jumped off of the ledge he was standing on and soared up to the summit of the nearest canyon. He landed on a cliff above. There, lying right in front of him was a massive six-legged beast. Its white fur seemed to glow in the moonlight, making the brown arrows on its body seem almost black. Levi walked over to the bison, and patted its head.

"Dato, wake up." He whispered.

The bison opened its massive eyes and yawned. Levi smirked

"Good"

Levi then used the air around him as a springboard, leaping onto the bison's back. He grabbed ahold of the reins that were tied to Dato's horns,

"Yip, Yip" Levi commanded. Dato leapt into the air and began flying. "Republic City Dato. We must find the Avatar."

火災火災火災

It was a normal night in Republic City. The rain lightly falling down from the cloudy sky; a crescent moon peaked through the clouds, on the street people were walking, laughing, and driving. However, on a nearby rooftop on Memorial Street, two figures were searching the crowd, one standing and one prone. The one standing was staring up at the moon, short brown hair glistening from the rain. A complete awestruck look was in his green eyes, as if he was seeing the entire beauty of the cosmos in that moment.

"Hey, Dagur! You're supposed to be keeping us dry!" Shouted the man who was lying down

Dagur looked at the man lying down next to him. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a grey hood and jeans, and clutching an all-metal rifle.

"Sorry Xain." apologized Dagur. He focused on the rain around them, willing it to stop mid air. "The moon is just so beautiful tonight I got sidetracked."

"Idiot." Xain grumbled as he looked down the telescopic sights on his rifle. His crosshairs scanned the crowd for a particular target.

"Who are we going after tonight?" Dagur inquired.

"I thought you were paying attention during Itzi's briefing. Or were you sidetracked staring at the all powerful moon?" Xain grumbled sarcastically.

"Um… I… Uh…"

"Corrupt cop." Xain continued "Dirty bastard been skimming off the top of drug busts for months, and he murdered a few benders in cold blood, claimed self defense. Now shut up, I need to focus."

Xain saw his target in the crowd sipping on a cup of tea while walking down the sidewalk, away from the building where the men were perched. He just got off of his shift judging by the fact he was still in uniform. Xain took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused. He connected with the bullet in the chamber of his rifle, like it was an extension of his body. Xain willed it forward at a lethal speed; he reopened his eyes and guided it to his target, the cop's occipital lobe. He felt the bullet enter the head, and forced it to a halt, right behind the victim's eye. In the crosshairs, Xain saw his target fall over. Tea dropped to the ground and splashed everywhere.

"Come on, let's go." Xain told Dagur.

Xain then focused on his rifle, the metal seemed to liquefy and crawl up Xain's right arm. It continued to do so until a metal sleeve covered the arm, leaving nothing but an intricate set of magnifying lenses. Xain picked these up and slipped them into a pouch on his belt. The two men then walked to the opposite side of the roof and Dagur took a deep breath. Dagur focused on the rain around him, slowing down its molecules and creating a slide out of ice for them. The two men slid to the bottom into an ally, where they disappeared into the shadows.


	2. Chapter 1: What Is

Book 1: Fire

Chapter 1: what is

_Three months later…_

Akio sat at his desk, staring at the files in front of him. His steel grey eyes glanced at his wristwatch; the clock face showed that it was almost two o'clock. He rubbed his eyes, and looked back at the files. Each one he had already memorized right down to the creases in the paper, but still he pored over the files, hoping to find some new insight into finding the sons of bitches that killed his partner.

"_Of course they've done more than that to the city…"_ he began thinking, "_Some of it has been good, like attacking the Triads, but then they started blowing up buildings, assassinating officers, causing all around terror…" _his thoughts were interrupted by a meek knock at the door.

"Yes?" he inquired.

His secretary peeked her head past the oak door. She had been here only a week; her predecessor was fired due to incompetence. Her straight black hair fell to her shoulders, and her big brown eyes were full of worry, as if she expected to be fired any minute.

"Your new partner is here to speak with you." she squeaked.

"_Really? We have to do this today of all days?!"_ he thought. He felt warmth spreading fast in his hands as his rage grew. He then took a deep breath and regained control "Send her in." he replied, grimacing.

"Yes sir." Her head then disappeared behind the door.

Within seconds, a young woman walked through the door where the secretary's head had been. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, chestnut brown hair falling down in curls to her shoulders. Her ice blue eyes seemed to be moving at a heightened rate, taking in the large steel desk, sleek black computer, files strewn about, and Akio himself. Akio rose to greet her and shook her hand, putting on a feigned smile.

"Hello, I'm Akio" he greeted.

"Well I surmised as much, otherwise I would have to pay someone an unpleasant visit," she said, in a tone that seemed to be three parts sweet, one part venom. "I'm Clari, your new partner. Did I come in at a bad time?" she asked, eyes flicking to the files on Akio's desk

"Not at all, I was just… reviewing some case files, please sit down" Akio responded, motioning at the chair in front of her. He sat down himself, beginning to re-organize the files on his desk.

"Let me guess, the Renegade case?" Clari surmised, settling in the quite comfortable chair.

Akio blinked, his smile quickly faded. "… You read my file, didn't you?"

"Yes, and let me say, you are quite the interesting case"

"How so?" Akio questioned, "Tell me your opinion"

"You were born to a middle class family in Republic City, and at age nine you developed the ability to firebend. Though you kept your abilities as secret as possible, the president still learned about you. He then had you register as a bender and enrolled you in a private school in Ba Sing Se so you could learn to control your abilities. At age 18 you graduated and then joined the police force and rose fast through the ranks, earning a leadership position over your own specialized task force 6 months ago. This task force not only conducted unprecedented raids against the organized crime circuit, it also began to cause problems for the terrorist organization known as the Renegades. All seemed to be going well, and you thought you were about to capture the terrorists, but then 3 months ago…"

"My partner was assassinated by the Renegades and the fucking bastards vanished into thin air" Akio interrupted. "If I wanted a review of my life story I could read the damn thing myself. I said I wanted your opinion on me, and don't tell me you don't know me well enough because you obviously have seen everything from my basic files to my psych visits." He growled.

"Fine…" Clari responded through gritted teeth. She took a deep breath and continued in a sweet voice "You are brash, arrogant, and head strong. Also your partners death haunts you to this day, and you want nothing more than to bring the Renegades to justice."

"That's better." Akio smirked "Now lets talk about why the President really sent you here, because it sure as hell wasn't just because I needed a new partner."

"Oh?" Clari asked, eyes wide with innocence "Then why did the President send me?" she asked.

"To put me down if I lose control." He replied

"But you're a firebender, with years of experience" she said in an innocent voice. "How could I… put you down, as you eloquently put it?"

"You're a chi-blocker, and a skilled one at that. Formerly of the Presidents Special Forces unit designed to… manage the more violent members of my kind. Which from what I've read, you have done without remorse multiple times. Even knowing how to use someone's chi against them. Though you're a little trigger happy, which is why you are fresh off a 6-month suspension for accidentally harming an innocent bystander" He finished, giving her a knowing look.

Her eyes narrowed, "Those files are sealed, how did you see them?"

"You have presidential approval, I have more… discrete methods"

"Are you suggesting you were involved in illegal activities? Because I can give you a demonstration of my abilities right now if you want"

"No not at all! I just happen to be friends with a surprisingly knowledgeable cabbage vender. Now if you are done with the pissing contest, I have work for you."

"Whatever" she huffed. "So, what do you want me working on?"

"You see these files on my desk? I want you to memorize them, down to the spelling errors and word counts, by tomorrow. The digital copies are already on your computer."

"Is that all?" she sneered

"Yes, or is it too hard for someone who graduated top of her class in hand to hand combat 3 years ahead of time and has a photographic memory? … That's what I thought. Now if you'll excuse me" he said glancing at his watch which read 3:00 "I need to continue working"

"Yes sir" she said, rising from her seat. She then walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

火災 火災 火災

Akio looked down at his watch for the first time in a while, 8 pm. _"Damn that was fast" _he thought. Just then he became aware of a buzzing in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his phone, flipping it open with his thumb and raising it to his ear,

"Hello?"

"Hello detective" responded a coarse voice from the phone

"Itzi, why am I not surprised?" Akio responded. "Oh wait that's right, you need to fill your little obsession with gaining my forgiveness by calling on the monthly anniversary that you and your band of terrorists killed my partner"

"Akio, as I told you last time, I didn't know he was your partner. I was told he was a crooked cop." Itzi replied in a controlled voice.

"Right, I almost forgot, your not a terrorist just a vigilante who is fed information on crooked cops, Triad locations, and which buildings full of innocent people to blow to high heaven!" Akio replied in a condescending tone.

"Akio, I know how it sounds, but I'm not the bad guy here."

"Bullshit, you are the bad guy, and I'm going to find you and send you to Hell, even if I have to drag you there myself!" Akio yelled with rage. He then snapped the phone shut.

Akio took a few deep breaths, and then picked up the files on his desk, re-organizing them and carried them out his door and placed them on his secretary's desk. He then went down the hallway, into the stairwell, down the stairs and out the door, where he was met with a brisk autumn wind. _"Time to go pay respects to an old friend" _he bitterly thought.

火災 火災 火災

Levi was not expecting it to hurt this much. He had been sitting in a teashop, sipping contently on wild sweet orange tea, and discussing the day with an Earthbender named Sampson whom he had met a month ago. He also observed the patron's around him, many of them family, friends, or lovers. Some of them were laughing, others talking, two men sitting near the window seemed to be arguing over the moon of all things. As he was taking this in, he felt a white-hot pain explode in his head, somewhat similar to what he felt in the temple months ago. He clutched his head and gritted his teeth, he then heard a faint voice

"_If you do not act, the Avatar will die tonight"_

He opened his eyes and the pain subsided.

"Levi, are you alright?" Sampson asked, voice full of concern.

Levi was about to respond when he saw a man walk into the shop. The man had short jet-black hair in a military style cut, a grey trench coat, grey khakis, and boots on. His grey eyes sat in a stoic face.

"Sampson, no matter what happens tonight. We need to follow that man who just entered."

Sampson turned around and looked at the stranger and turned back to Levi.

"Ok, sure. But why?" Sampson asked.

"Because I think he's going to kill the Avatar." Levi replied in a hollow voice.


	3. Chapter 2

Book 1: Fire

Chapter 2: Just A Step From the Edge

Akio walked down the sidewalk of Main Street, away from HQ, silently brooding on the conversation he had just had. He walked a familiar route down Main Street, onto Second Street, until it met with Avenue X and his favorite teashop. As he stood in front of its glass doors, he reflected on the first time he and Trevor, his partner, had come here.

…_It had been a long first day, not only had Akio been put in charge of his own special division tasked with hunting down the all-bender terrorist group that called themselves the Renegades and not only had he been assigned a new partner, but also he and his partner had been around town on a wild goose chase looking for a member of the Renegades who had taken down 5 Triad members… with bullets that weren't technically even fired from a gun. Of course, it hadn't taken long to figure out that the person they were looking for was a metal bender. Unfortunately, it seemed that no one knew what he looked like. They had driven around all day, talking to every Triad member they could find, but everyone had the same response; one minute the victims were standing there alive, the next they were on the ground with a hole in their head. Finally, they had given up their search, close to a small teashop on Avenue X._

"_Alright, I think it's time to call it a day." Akio had said._

"_Ok boss, so should we head back to the station?" Trevor responded_

_Akio looked down at his watch, 9:30._

"_No need" he sighed, "Everyone's out of the station by now" He glanced at the shop and looked at Trevor "Let's grab a drink."…_

Akio allowed himself a small grin as he walked into the shop and sat down at a table by the left side window. He started surveying the crowd and locked eyes for a second on a man across the room. The man was wearing a dark brown cloak reminiscent of the one worn by Avatar Aang in the terrible mover adaptation of the Ember Island Players production _"The Boy in the Iceberg"_ (directed by N. Day Shaman). The man looked to be in his late 30's, his dark brown hair was unkempt as if he had just rolled out of bed. His fierce brown eyes seemed to stare into Akio's soul. His expression was as if he had just seen a spirit animal. He hurriedly over to his companion, a large man with a shaved head, and muddled something in to his ear. Akio broke eye contact as he noticed the owner come up to greet him, and carrying a pot of tea.

"Hello Akio" the owner said as he sat down.

"Hey Gibbs." Akio replied, "How are you?"

"Same as ever" Gibbs replied, pouring Akio and himself a cup. "How are you? "

"Frustrated. It's been 3 months since Trevor died and I'm still no closer to finding Itzi and his companions. It seems pointless, and now I've been assigned a new partner…"

"Oh?" Gibbs interrupted, "tell me about him."

"SHE is a pain." Akio replied poignantly, "Her name is Clari and she is a chi blocker, assigned by the president to take care of me if I present a problem."

"Well to be fair, you almost did burn the face off of a Triad member a month ago…"

"I don't care she's no better, she murdered an innocent bender in cold blood. She's reckless, trigger happy, cold…"

"Sounds like a match made in heaven" Gibbs smiled.

Akio exhaled loudly and looked out the window. All of a sudden he felt a smack on the back of his head. He looked at Gibbs, "Quit brooding, your tea is getting cold" Gibbs said with a smirk. Akio took a sip of his jasmine tea and relaxed a bit in his seat. He then began talking with Gibbs about current events, the weather, even trivial things like the difference between tea and hot leaf juice which Akio swore was the same as tea. Eventually Gibbs stood up from the table and went back to his duties. Akio then looked back at the cloak stranger and his companion. As the stranger went to take a sip of his tea, Akio noticed a blue tattoo in the shape of an arrow on his hand.

"_Great… an Airbender, he probably is going to tell me my chakra's are unaligned or something"_

Akio then overheard the two gentlemen at the table next to him arguing. One of them was wearing a black leather jacket with dark jeans; his hand clutching his teacup seemed to have some sort of a metal fingerless gauntlet on it, and a grey hood covered his face. The man across from him was wearing a black hoodie with yellow rings running down its arms, jeans, and leather necklace that had a slender white pouch hanging from it.

"… I don't care how beautiful you think the moon is Dagur, whenever it's raining, you need to keep me dry when we are on an assignment." The man in the jacket grumbled

"Why is that Xain? Are you concerned about a little water?" Dagur replied sarcastically.

"No, but it's hard to concentrate when I'm constantly getting pelted by rain."

"I'm sorry, next time we go on an assignment I'll make sure we are dry… Oh wait, I forgot Itzi told us…"

Akio's eyes widened. "_Xain, Dagur (whose obsession with the moon), Itzi, I can't believe it" _Akio wore a devilish grin. _"What luck, I'm finally going to give these bastards what they so rightfully deserve"_

火災火災火災

Xain sighed as he laid the money down the table, paying for the tea he and Dagur had just finished off. Ever since he'd joined the Renegades, he had to put up with Dagur's lunar obsession. Sure, it was the moon spirit that allowed Dagur to have his abilities, but it didn't mean he had to worship it every waking moment of his life. He stood up, as did Dagur and they walked out of the teashop and took a left. Dagur continued lamenting on how powerful the moon was and how beautiful it was tonight as a full moon. Xain couldn't take it anymore; he grabbed Dagur by the neck with his right hand and shoved him against the brick wall of the building to his left. Xain then willed the metal around his arm to form a small blade that extended from his arm right onto Dagur's neck.

"For five minutes can we just walk in slilence?" Xain grumbled

Dagur made a small nodding motion with his head, probably fearful that the slightest movement would cut him.

"Good" Xain retracted the blade and released Dagur. They walked in silence the rest of the way to their destination. Finally, they arrived at an old abandoned warehouse. They walked over to a door on the side, which Xain unlocked by creating a key. As he opened the door he felt a wave of heat behind him. Xain ducked and turned around just in time to see Dagur get hit with a ball of reddish-blue flame, his body flew to the wall. Xain then ran over to check on his associate. He felt a pulse; Dagur was out cold but none the less alive. Xain grimaced and stood up, and willed the metal on his arm to create two long knives that he held in each hand in a backhand style. He then turned around and saw the attacker.

"_Oh Shit, he found us."_

火災火災火災

Akio had followed Xain and Dagur from the teashop all the way to this warehouse. As soon as the metal bender had opened the door, Akio knew it was time. He concentrated all of his rage and hatred. He focused his flowing anger out of his extended fist. His rage and anger took form and jetted out of his fist as red and blue fireball rush and hit Dagur, propelling his body into the wall of the warehouse. His companion checked on him and then stood up, now holding two curved knives backhand style. Xain turned around, a moment of shock appeared on his face.

"You know, if you stand down now, I'll let you off easy," Akio offered.

Xain looked at him, and his knives melted in his hands and snaked up his arms. Akio smirked, then he felt something jut by his head. Xain had thrown a small knife at him.

"Alright, if that's how you want it."

Akio threw small knives of his own at Xain, only these were pure fire. Xain flipped over them and willed two long swords into existence and jolted towards Akio. Akio smiled and willed two small jets of flame into his hands; he then dodged Xain's first swipe, attempting to hit Xain with one of his knives. They fought furiously, sword to fire knife, Xain was only able to land a few small cuts on Akio, and Akio was only able to give Xain a few passing burns.

"_I need to finish this quickly, or else I won't have enough strength to face Itzi"_ Akio thought.

Akio then dissipated his knives and jumped away from Xain.

"Had enough yet?" He laughed

Akio began moving his arms in a circular motion, his anger, rage, and pain colliding all finding their way to hands. Xain then ran at him, swords crossed possibly in an effort to block whatever attack was coming. Akios feelings took form and burst forth from his extend fingers; Lightning exploded from Akio and pelted Xain's swords as well as Xain himself. Xain's body fell over smoking. Akio smiled to himself as he walked over the body and into the warehouse. He then heard a familiar coarse voice.

"Akio, welcome. I was wondering when you would find me"


	4. Chapter 3

Book 1:Fire

Chapter 3: Fires of Hatred

Akio lit a small fire in his hand, illuminating only a small area of the warehouse around him. He then heard the voice again

"Come now, there's no reason we can't be civil about this Akio, after all we have much to discuss."

Akio then saw two white streaks of light starting to move in a circular motion, he quickly extinguished the flame in his hand and ducked as a bolt of lightning flew directly at… a small fuse box on the far right side of the warehouse. Suddenly the lights in the warehouse flickered on revealing Itzi standing in the middle of the room. He was wearing a dark green military jacket with the hood up and torn jeans. His hands hung by his side in an open stance. Akio summoned the rage inside of him and shot a powerful stream of red-blue flame at Itzi. In the space of a second, Itzi moved his right hand up and out like a spearhead, the fire hit his hand and then flared to either side of Itzi, not harming him at all. Akio, realizing the attack was useless, ended his attack.

"See? Violence is futile, now let's try to talk this out Akio, I mean you no harm"

Itzi lowered his hood, revealing his dark, taunt face. His black hair, braided into dreadlocks, fell to his shoulders. His eyes were a curious shade of green and gold and his lips were drawn back into a smirk.

"Now, as I was trying to say, you and I are not that different…"

"Stop speaking in clichés and get to the point!" Akio yelled.

"The point is you and I are working for the same person, I'm not a terrorist, the president sends me and my colleagues a target such as a corrupt official or a location where the Triad meets and we deal with them."

"That is a lie! Don't you dare try to excuse your acts! You've attacked multiple buildings full of innocent civilians, you killed multiple government officials, and how the HELL do you explain killing Trevor?!"

"I am sorry about your friend, we were given bad information and thought he was stealing drugs from the force…"

"Stop talking." Akio said with a grimace "I challenge you to Agni Kai. If you win, I will listen to your story, but if I win I'm going to arrest you and your friends."

"I didn't take you as the suicidal type Akio, you're out of practice, but if you insist I accept your challenge."

Itzi then took out a small timer from his pocket, turning its dial a quarter of the way to the right.

"Once this timer sounds, we will begin"

Akio turned around and unbuttoned his trench coat and threw it to the side, he then loosened the tie around his neck and tore off his dress shirt leaving nothing on his torso except a tight black shirt (A.N. think a Nike dri-fit t-shirt). He then kneeled on his left leg to the ground, placing his fists on either side of his body for support. On the other side of the room, Itzi was doing the same thing, only once his jacket and t-shirt were off; he had nothing on his torso except for a white sleeveless shirt. Akio began taking deep breaths, and then heard the timer go off. Akio pushed off of the ground and propelled himself high into the air, back flipping to face his opponent. (A.N. cue epic fight music) He then saw a chaotic storm of lightning flying at him. _Shit,_ Akio thought, he then jutted out two fingers from his right hand, intercepting one of the bolts that contacted with him, and used his left hand to direct the lightning from his hand, down through his arm, through the shoulder, to the stomach, and out his left hand aiming it back at Itzi. Itzi jumped out of the way as the lightning hit the ground where he was, leaving a large scorch mark. Akio landed on his feet and sent two large arcs of fire at Itzi created from his feet. Itzi created a large wall of fire and absorbed the arcs, and then shot another bolt of lightning at Akio, who jumped out of the way. Akio then sent multiple fire blades flying in Itzi's direction. Itzi's eyes widened and he turned his body away from the oncoming small daggers of fire. All of them missed him, or so Itzi thought until he smelled something foul and noticed one of his dreadlocks was significantly shorter and smoking. He grimaced and shot a large fireball at Akio. Akio's eyes widened and he summoned a firewall to protect himself. Once the fireball collided with Akio's wall, it created a large explosion of fire and smoke. Akio saw his chance to finish the fight and took it. Using the smoke and fire as cover for his movements, he propelled himself into the air with two small jets of fire that flowed from his hands. Then, while in the air, Akio summoned all of his will and shot a massive bolt of lighting down at an unsuspecting Itzi. Akio looked down at the terror in Itzi's eyes as he accepted his fate. But right before the lightning struck, Itzi was thrown backwards by a massive gust of air, and the lightning hit the ground harmlessly. "_What the hell?!", _ was all Akio had time to think as he landed on the ground. Akio was then trapped in a column of earth that encased his body and only left his head free. The column started moving, and brought him face to face with Itzi, who was also encased in a seperate column of earth. Akio was about to make a comment when he heard a voice from nearby.

"Sorry about the extremes boys but I couldn't risk you two killing each other, considering what's at stake."

Both Akio and Itzi gave each other an inquiring look, communicating the same thought.

"_Who the Hell is this asshole?!"_

Suddenly, their earthly columns slowly rotated and soon they were facing two men, one large with a shaved head, the other wearing a hooded robe and holding a staff.

"Oh great!" Akio exclaimed, "You guys were at the teashop, listen monk, I couldn't give a rats ass about what happens after death so you and your friend can spare me the sales pitch…"

The airbender removed his hood, revealing a man with an almost skeletal face whose jet-black hair fell down on his brow, almost covering the tip of a blue arrow. His grey eyes were peaceful, like the clouds after a storm; his lips were drawn in a thin line.

"First of all smartass, I'm not exactly an orthodox airbender in case you couldn't tell", he said motioning to his hair "second of all, why don't you stay quiet so I can actually explain what's going on."

Akio exhaled loudly.

"My name is Levi, and this is my friend Sampson. I'm an airbender who has been traveling the world for the past 3 months in search of something…" he continued looking at Itzi "and I think I just found it."

"And what exactly would that be?" Itzi asked gruffly.

"The Avatar" Levi replied gravely.


End file.
